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Corona app

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MyxWorx
Explorer

Corona app

Today a new corona app has been released by the German government. However, it cannot be used on my XA1+, but fails with the error "Fehler bei der Kommunikation mit Google API(17)". I guess the app would require a system update. Will Sony care to provide an update for this live saving app? 

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RottenFoxBreath
Enthusiast


@MyxWorx wrote:

The German government claimed, that 85% of all smartphones can be used with the corona app.

 

So it's even worse, it's Sony who cares even less for their customers. Even Huawei/Honor managed to fix this bug.


85% is still way off 100%, and leaves thousands of phones that won't be compatible.

And for them to say that is irresponsible, as they don't know either.

Have they tested 100% of the phones out there...I hardly think so.

Still hardly Sony who don't care, and if you can't understand that, then thats your issue.

As for Huawei "fixing" the "bug", it's not a bug, it's that they don't have access to Googles API's, so have had to release their own "Contact Shield API", and as such, the app writers/authors/companies may decide to still not include that, in which case, Huawei will be out on a limb.

 

The thing is, your phone is 3 years old, updates ceased a while ago, and if Sony decide not to update their phones, or indeed Google Services, isn't updated for it, it's hardly their lack of customer care, it's just the phone won't work with it..

That's like me saying my car can't go at 130mph, as it's 3 years old, but the new 2020 model can, so Vauxhall don't care about owners of the 3 year old model..but there are far more things at work than at face value.

 

Incidentally, the app is untested in the wild, and the biggest issue is the unreliable nature of it, due to it not being able to correctly decipher between distances.

At the moment, on some tested phones, it can't differentiate between 1 metre and 20, so you may not have ever been close to someone who is +, but as the connection detects a "hit", it still registers.

Apple I believe have this as the biggest issue, as noted in the UK press, but they are not the only ones.

 

And your health is your responsiblity, so you are the one who should take steps to protect yourself, not rely on others, or an app.

Just like people who rely on reversing cameras to park their cars, it's an aid...not a replacement.

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MyxWorx
Explorer

Apart from repeating that this phone is "three years old" (which it isn't as you know, but yes, I got your point, long ago),

do you have any insight whether this very specific phone has an actual hardware problem so that it can not be fixed?

 

The Corona-Warn-App was designed to work from Android 6.0.0 on! So there should be much older hardware around, which still would be usable.

 

People noticed by now that corona will hit the poorest most - e.g. if Sony does fix the Android system for high end devices only. So apart from technical reasons we could also argue about ethics of this company's decision.